Larry Lucchino confirmed Sunday that his run as Boston Red Sox president and CEO will conclude at the end of this season but he will remain with the club in a new role.
Lucchino released a statement Sunday morning that said Sam Kennedy, who grew up just a couple of miles from Fenway Park in Brookline, Mass., will be the team’s next president.
The 69-year-old Lucchino joined the Red Sox in 2002. His contract is set to expire at the end of the 2015 season.
The Boston Herald reported that 42-year-old executive vice president and COO Kennedy would take over for Lucchino but will not be involved in baseball operations or assume the title of CEO.
Lucchino was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in February that likely contributed to the decision.
“I’ll be 70 in September. That’s sort of why I’m ready to step back,” Lucchino told The Boston Globe on Saturday.
Kennedy, who has been sought by several professional sports franchises the past few years, declined to comment. His primary duties with the Red Sox are business operations, broadcasting, marketing and tickets.
Kennedy also worked for Lucchino with the San Diego Padres as executive director of corporate partnerships and broadcasting before moving to Boston.
Red Sox place Porcello on DL
Rick Porcello’s disappointing season just got a little worse.
The Boston Red Sox placed the right-handed Porcello on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday because of a right triceps injury, NESN.com reported.
The stint on the disabled list is retroactive to July 30, one day after inflammation in Porcello’s triceps developed following his last start Wednesday.
In that game, Porcello allowed 10 hits and six runs (five earned) in two-plus innings and was booed by the sellout Fenway Park crowd.
Porcello signed a four-year, $82.5 million extension with the Red Sox in April, but the 26-year-old Porcello is just 5-11 with a 5.81 ERA in 20 starts this season.
“The best we could have done would have been to push him back to Saturday to give him ample time, but felt like that was going to be too much of a risk,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “We feel like it’s a short-term thing, but at the same time, we need to back him out of there, because he wasn’t going to be able to throw a bullpen (Sunday). While the symptoms are improving, there’s still soreness there.”
Henry Owens and Brian Johnson are the top candidates to make starts in Porcello’s absence.